The present invention relates generally to swimming pool accessories and more particularly to swimming pool covers.
Swimming pool covers are well known in the art and are commonly placed over a swimming pool to prevent environmental debris from falling into and contaminating the water held within the swimming pool.
Most conventional swimming pool covers are manufactured out of a sheet of plastic material which is slightly larger in length and width than the swimming pool over which it is to be disposed. In use, the swimming pool cover is suspended over the desired swimming pool so that the outer periphery of the swimming pool cover rests outside the swimming pool and preferably on a flat surface, such as the top surface of a pool edge or deck. The sheet of plastic material is typically maintained in place over the swimming pool by disposing weighted objects, such as sand bags or water bags, on top of the periphery of the swimming pool cover.
Although widely used in commerce, plastic pool covers of the type described above experience numerous disadvantages.
As a first notable disadvantage, plastic swimming pool covers are typically heavy and bulky, thereby rendering the placement of the swimming pool cover over a swimming pool a time consuming and physically strenuous task. As a consequence, most swimming pool covers are designed to be disposed over a swimming pool for prolonged periods of time, such as an entire winter season, and are not used for frequent (i.e., daily) pool covering applications.
As a second notable disadvantage, plastic swimming pool covers tend to collect large quantities of water over prolonged periods of time. As a consequence, the collected water tends to weigh down the swimming pool cover, thereby making removal of the cover increasingly difficult. In addition, the prolonged collection of a large quantity of water on top of the cover can foster the growth of algae and/or bacteria, which is highly undesirable.
Accordingly, alternative types of swimming pool covers have been introduced to prevent environmental debris from falling into and contaminating the water of a swimming pool.
One alternative type of swimming pool cover which is well known in the art employs a thin, lightweight, flexible plastic sheet. However, it has been found, that thin plastic sheets tend to become rapidly embrittled by the sun and/or pool chemicals. As a result, the swimming pool cover is prone to tearing, which is undesirable.
Another alternative type of swimming pool cover which is well known in the art employs rows of insulative, buoyant, foam panels which are hinged together at their adjacent ends by hinge means.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,182, to L.M. Koelsch, there is disclosed a modular floating swimming pool cover which includes a series of buoyant panels which are hinged together to form a row of panels. The cover can include several adjacent rows. The hinge includes spaced hinge links which fit into slots in the panel ends allowing alternate direction or accordion folding for vertical stack storage and ease in swinging into a use position floating on the liquid surface of the pool.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,428 to L. Morris, there are disclosed a rigid, buoyant, insulating and rapid folding swimming pool covers. Rigid, closed cell foam plastic sheets are joined by flexible hinges. A series of resulting strips are floated, side by side, to cover the pool. Overall dimensions are slightly smaller than the inner pool perimeter to allow for easy removal. There is attached to the outer perimeter and extending past the edge of the sheets and up the wall of the pool, a flexible lip, preferably porous, so that some pressure is exerted to keep individual sections together while sealing the open perimeter channel. This allows rain water passage to the pool below without permitting dirt to follow. Flexible or elastomeric inserts are attached at comers and at necessary breaks in the lip selected for folding or closer fitting to further keep out contamination. The alternatively hinged, rigid foam sheets fold, accordion like, into a small space when not in use.
Swimming pool covers which use rows or insulative, buoyant, foam panels are lightweight and easy to manipulate. However, swimming pool covers of this type experience a couple notable drawbacks.
As a first drawback, this type of swimming pool cover typically rests on the top surface of the water of the swimming pool and is not securely fastened to a fixed structure, such as a pool edge or deck, by weighted devices. As a consequence, this type of swimming pool cover could become partially or fully displaced off of the swimming pool during a storm or other similar condition, which is undesirable.
As a second drawback, this type of swimming pool cover tends to allow the accumulation of some water thereon, thereby weighing down the cover and fostering algae growth, which is undesirable.